James the Berk?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 106505

Batchevra wrote:

Snape is not innocent, he spied to find something that he could use
against any of the Marauders, just like Draco in PS/SS was out of his
dorm to spy on  Harry and Hermione when they gave Norbert to Charlie
Weasley's friends. If  Sirius had been expelled, and Lupin thrown out
of the school because of what happened, Snape would have been expelled
also, he was out of bounds and out of bed.

Carol responds:
We really don't know Severus' motive, do we? Why would he think that
Lupin was doing anything wrong if he was being taken to the Shrieking
Shack by Madam Pomfrey? Do we know that Severus actually saw the other
three Marauders on their way to join him? Surely they would have worn
the invisibility cloak. And he certainly never saw them transform into
animals or he'd have told Dumbledore about it in PoA. 

And even if he did think they were doing something wrong and was
spying on them, that's hardly sufficient reason to endanger his life
by exposing him to the danger of being bitten by a werewolf. If
Severus was wrong, Sirius was more wrong. Sirius knew perfectly well 
that Severus would be unable to resist satisfying his curiosity,
especially in the form of a dare. Sirius also should have considered
the consequences to himself and his friends before placing *them* in
danger of expulsion or worse. If you don't care what might have
happened to Severus, consider what would have happened to Remus
because of what Sirius did. If he had not told Severus how to get past
the Whomping Willow, none of them would have been in danger of
expulsion or werewolf bites. Sirius showed a reckless disregard for
the safety and happiness of everyone involved, himself included.
Severus didn't know there was a werewolf involved. Sirius did. Sirius
was the tempter and Severus was the tempted. There's really no other
way to look at it.

Also, Severus would not have been thrown out of school (unless he,
too, was bitten and shared the same fate as Lupin). He would have been
regarded (rightly) as the victim, even if he was unhurt. Yes, he might
well have been punished for being out of bed and out of bounds, but if
the punishment for breaking that rule were expulsion, Harry, Ron,
Hermione, and Draco would all have been expelled as early as SS/PS. We
know from their experiences that the punishment for that relatively
minor infraction is detention, not expulsion. Causing serious injury
to another student or bringing about that student's death would have
been, of course, an entirely different matter. Even wilfully causing
the risk of death or injury is criminal negligence. The adult Snape's
belief that Sirius got off too easily is entirely understandable
regardless of whether Sirius wanted to kill him or merely scare him.

I'm not saying that Severus was wholly innocent, but he was not as
guilty as Sirius, who placed him in extreme danger as punishment for
being a busybody. The punishment does not fit the crime and it was not
Sirius' job to administer it.

Carol, who has left James out of this discussion because she's not
sure whether he knew all along what Sirius was up to or somehow found
out just in time